Massaging apparatus

ABSTRACT

A massaging apparatus for the treatment of cellulitis includes a pair of jaws slidably mounted along a tube, and hand-actuated lever means for relatively moving the jaws together against the action of spring means. Means are provided for adjusting the mean separation of the jaws, which can be engaged about different parts of the body to be treated.

United States atent Taubert Sept. 24, 1974 [54] MASSAGING APPARATUS 1,281,487 10/1918 Beshgeturian 128/59 [76] ento r a Taubert 27 Chemin Sous 1,918,546 7/1933 Johnson 128/28 Caran Vesenaz Swltzerland Primary Examiner-LaWrence W. Trapp [22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1973 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hubbe11, Cohen & Stiefel [21] Appl. No.: 342,187

[57] ABSTRACT 52] us. (:1. 128/59, 128/60 A massaging apparatus for the m nt of cellulitis 51 int. c1 A61h 7/00 includes a p of j Slidably mounted along a tube, [58] Field of Search 128/59-6l, and hand-actuated lever. means for relatively moving 128/346, 354, 355 the jaws together against the action of spring means. Means are provided for adjusting the mean separation 5 R f en i d of the jaws, which can be engaged about different parts of the body to be treated.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures MASSAGING APPARATUS The invention relates to massaging apparatus.

The difficulties involved in treating cellulitis are well known. One of the most current forms of treatment in order to remove water from the patients tissues is manual massage; the eliminated water may, however, soon be replaced. Also, for corpulent persons, massage does not always enable all of the infiltered tissues to be treated. Moreover, these massages can only be carried out by specialists and are hence costly, and the person being treated must in general attend regular sessions away from his dwelling place, so that a strict selfdiscipline is called for. Finally, these manual massages can be extremely painful for the patient.

An object of the invention is to overcome or to avoid these difficulties by providing a simple massaging apparatus which enables persons suffering from cellulitis to treat themselves, at home, without the need to consult a specialist, and the use of which enables watercontaining tissues to be treated without pain. It is also an object of the invention to provide such an apparatus which is hand-operated and which can be used, without undue fatigue, to massage a given location of the body for as long a period as may be desirable.

The invention therefore proposes a massaging apparatus for the treatment of cellulitis, comprising two jaws adapted to be engaged about a part of a body to be treated, means for communicating to said jaws relative movement towards and away from one another, and means for adjusting the mean separation of said jaws. To employ this apparatus, the jaws are engaged about a part of the body to be treated, their mean separation is adjusted and they are then moved relative to one another so as to compress and release the tissues of said treated part of the body, which provides a massage effective for the treatment of cellulitis.

An embodiment of the invention is shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating use of the apparatus for the treatment of cellulitis in the upper part of an arm;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of the apparatus; and

FIG. 3 is a transversal cross-sectional view.

The apparatus shown includes an elongate member in the form ofa tube on which are mounted two generally parallel jaws 11 and 12 and a pair of pivotally connected levers 13 forming an elbow joint. Jaw 11 is slidably mounted along tube 10 and can be fixed in a chosen position therealong by locking means formed by a piece 14 pivotally mounted on jaw 11, a plurality of notches 16 milled in the tube 10, and a spring 15 urging the piece 14 towards the tube 10 and into engagement with a notch 16. The position ofjaw 11 along tube 10 can thus be set by selecting the notch 16 with which piece 14 engages.

Jaw 12 is mounted on a piston 17 slidably mounted inside tube 10, and is guided in a longitudinal slot 18 in tube 10. The free end of one of the levers 13 is pivotally connected to jaw 12, and the free end of the other lever 13 is pivotally connected to a piece on the end of tube 10 opposite to the end carrying jaw 11. A compression spring 19 disposed within tube 10 urges the piston 17 towards the right of FIG. 2, thereby urging jaw 12 away from jaw 11.

The right hand lever 13, looking at FIG. 2, is so shaped and dimensioned that it can be gripped, together with the corresponding part of tube 10, in the users hand so that by pressing this lever 13 towards tube 10, the jaw 12 is moved leftwards towards jaw 11. The path of jaw 12 is limited towards the right by an end of the slot 18, and towards the left by a stop in the form of a rod 20 fixed coaxially within the tube 10 and spring 19. The stop-forming end of rod 20 may be longitudinally adjustable along tube 10. Jaw 11 is maintained in alignment with jaw 12 by means of a pin 22 which is guided in a longitudinal groove 21 in tube 10.

The apparatus is used in the following manner:

The part of the body to be treated is engaged between jaws 11 and 12, and the position of jaw 11, and possibly that of rod 19, is set. The jaw 12 is then moved with a reciprocating movement by compressing the elbow levers 13 so as to pinch and release the tissues suffering from cellulitis.

The apparatus can be used, as shown in FIG. 1 for example, by engaging an entire limb such as an arm between the jaws, or by pinching another part of the body which may suffer from cellulitis, for example in the area of the hips.

What is claimed is:

1. Massaging apparatus for the treatment of cellulitis, comprising two jaws adapted to be engaged about a part of a body to be treated, means for communicating to said jaws a relative movement towards and away from one another, and means for adjusting the mean separation of said jaws, wherein said adjusting means include means for locking one of said jaws relative to an elongate member on which said jaws are slidably mounted, said locking means including a plurality of notches in said member and a piece movably mounted on said one jaw, said piece being selectably engageable in one of said notches.

2. Massaging apparatus comprising an elongate member having first and second ends, first and second jaws adapted to be engaged about a part of a body to be treated, the first jaw being slidably mounted along a part of said member adjacent to said first end, means for securing said first jaw on said member in chosen positions, the second jaw being slidably mounted towards and away from said first jaw along a part of said member intermediate of said first and second ends, spring means for urging said second jaw away from said first jaw and towards said second end of said member, and hand-actuated means disposed adjacent to said second end of said member for moving said second jaw towards said first jaw against the action of said spring means, said hand-actuated moving means comprising a pair of pivotally interconnected levers, one lever being pivotally connected to said second jaw, and the other lever being pivotally connected to said second end of said member.

3. Massaging means for the treatment of cellulitis, comprising an elongated support member and a pair of jaws, means for releasably adjustably mounting one of said jaws on said support member, means for mounting the other of said jaws on said support member for movement relative to said one jaw, and means for imparting movement to said other ja 

1. Massaging apparatus for the treatment of cellulitis, comprising two jaws adapted to be engaged about a part of a body to be treated, means for communicating to said jaws a relative movement towards and away from one another, and means for adjusting the mean separation of said jaws, wherein said adjusting means include means for locking one of said jaws relative to an elongate member on which said jaws are slidably mounted, said locking means including a plurality of notches in said member and a piece movably mounted on said one jaw, said piece being selectably engageable in one of said notches.
 2. Massaging apparatus comprising an elongate member having first and second ends, first and second jaws adapted to be engaged about a part of a body to be treated, the first jaw being slidably mounted along a part of said member adjacent to said first end, means for securing said first jaw on said member in chosen positions, the second jaw being slidably mounted towards and away from said first jaw along a part of said member intermediate of said first and second ends, spring means for urging said second jaw away from said first jaw and towards said second end of said member, and hand-actuated means disposed adjacent to said second end of said member for moving said second jaw towards said first jaw against the action of said spring means, said hand-actuated moving means comprising a pair of pivotally interconnected levers, one lever being pivotally connected to said second jaw, and the other lever being pivotally connected to said second end of said member.
 3. Massaging means for the treatment of cellulitis, comprising an elongated support member and a pair of jaws, means for releasably adjustably mounting one of said jaws on said support member, means for mounting the other of said jaws on said support member for movement relative to said one jaw, and means for imparting movement to said other jaw. 